Formed product grill

ABSTRACT

A conveyor system includes an upper and lower synchronized conveyors that transfer a food product, such as eggs, through a heating system to cook the food product. The lower conveyor includes a belt and the upper conveyor includes rings that are moveably held within frames. The rings and belt are brought together to define receptacles in which the food product is arranged during cooking. After cooking, the rings are lifted off of the belt, leaving the food product on the belt. A transfer roller transfers the cooked food product from the belt for further processing, such as freezing of the food product.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S.application Ser. No. 17/067,702, filed Oct. 11, 2020, and claimspriority to U.S. Provisional App. Ser. No. 62/914,185, filed Oct. 11,2019, both of which are expressly incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a conveyor system for heating a foodproduct. More particularly, the present invention relates to a formedproduct grill, e.g. a grill for cooking egg-based food products, whichare formed and cooked to a ready-to-eat condition.

Brief Description of Related Art

Food product belt grills are known, which use twopolytetrafluoroethylene (“PTFE”, e.g. Teflon®) conveyor belts, one belowthe food product, and one above, to pinch the food product while beingtransferred through the grill. Heating platens are located below thebottom belt and above the top belt to transfer heat through the belts byconduction to the food product. The platens are heated by thermal fluidsupplied by an outside heating and pumping system. The temperature ofthe grill is managed by regulating flow and temperature of thermal fluidsupplied to the heating platens.

Sunny side up eggs require delicate cooking and handling in order to becooked to a ready-to-eat condition, frozen, and then packaged for use inrestaurants, sandwich assembly, and other applications. All-natural eggsrequire slow, uniform cooking and specialized guidance during thecooking process to result in a clear, bright egg white and a liquidyolk. To date, mass production of this cooked food product has not beenattempted by the industrial food processing industry.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a ring assembly includes a frame and rings. The frameincludes bars. The bars include two spaced-apart lateral bars connectedby a series of spaced-apart longitudinal bars. The bars define squareopenings. The rings are moveably held within the openings. Each of therings defining an open top and an open bottom.

In another aspect, a conveyor system for heating a food product includesa feed end and an opposite discharge end, a belt, a frame, a pluralityof molds, and a heating system. The belt is configured to be moved in afirst direction from the feed end toward the discharge end. Each of themolds includes an open bottom. The frame defines openings, each of whichmoveably hold one of the molds. The frame is configured to move in thefirst direction and toward the belt such that the open bottom of each ofthe molds contacts the belt so as to define a receptacle between each ofthe molds and the belt. The receptacle is configured to contain the foodproduct during heating of the food product and to provide a shape to theheated food product. The heating system is configured to heat the foodproduct in the receptacle.

In another aspect, a method of preparing a cooked food product includesproviding a conveyor system including a belt, a frame, molds, and aheating system. Each of the molds is moveably held within an opening inthe frame and includes an open bottom. The method includes moving theframe such that the open bottom of each of the molds contacts the beltto thereby form a plurality of receptacles. The food product is arrangedin the receptacles and is cooked in the receptacles by heat providedfrom the heating system. The frame is then moved such that the molds donot contact the belt, thereby leaving the cooked food product on thebelt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a conveyor system in accordance withthe present subject matter.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the conveyor system inaccordance with the present subject matter.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of ring assembly in accordancewith the present subject matter.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the portion of the ring assembly of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 5 is a cross-section view taken along arrows 5-5 from FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a loading section of a conveyorsystem accordance with the present subject matter.

FIG. 7 is a back view showing a feed end of a conveyor system inaccordance with the present subject matter.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a discharge end of a conveyorsystem in accordance with the present subject matter.

FIG. 9 is a side perspective view showing a transfer operation of aconveyor system in accordance with the present subject matter.

FIG. 10 is a side perspective view showing the transfer operation ofFIG. 9 at a later time than shown in FIG. 9 .

FIG. 11 is a side perspective view showing the transfer operation ofFIG. 10 at a later time than shown in FIG. 10 .

FIG. 12 is a cross-section view of a transfer roller in accordance withthe present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present subject matter relates to a conveyor system 2 (also referredto herein as “conveyor assembly”) having a feed end 4 and an oppositedischarge end 6. The conveyor system 2 includes a lower conveyor 8 andan upper conveyor 10 and is configured to heat a food product 70, forexample an egg-based food product. The conveyor system 2 maycontinuously operate to prepare sunny side up eggs. The cooked eggs maybe frozen and packaged for later consumption. Operation of the conveyorsystem 2 will be discussed with respect to cooking eggs as the foodproduct 70, but this is not required, and it should be appreciated thatother food products can be cooked using the conveyor system 2.

1. Lower Conveyor.

The lower conveyor 8 includes a belt 12 that rotates around a firstcurved path (indicated by the lower set of arrows in FIG. 1 ) betweenthe feed end 4 and the discharge end 6. The belt 12 may be guided byrollers 14 along the first curved path. The rollers 14 may include alarge diameter feed end roller 14A that is also used to tension the belt12, and a large diameter discharge end roller 14B that also serves todrive the belt 12 by friction along the first curved path. Frictionbetween the discharge end roller 14B and the belt 12 is increased by thetension applied by the feed end roller 14A. The belt 12 may benon-stick, and may include a 0.012″ thick, flat, PTFE conveyor belt.Other materials, such as silicon, may be used to form or coat the belt12. The belt 12 is flat, and is joined together at the ends using anarrow finger style splice to make an endless/continuous loop. The arrowfinger splice creates a flat surface at the joint to enable the molds 20to sit flat across the splice joint.

2. Upper Conveyor.

The upper conveyor 10 includes a ring assembly including one or moreframes 16, each of which define openings 18, and a plurality of molds 20(also referred to herein as “rings”). The molds 20 are operativelyconnected with the frame 16 in that each one of the molds 20 is movablyheld (i.e. trapped) within one of the openings 18. As such, movement ofthe frame 16 along a second curved path (indicated by the upper set ofarrows in FIG. 1 ) between the feed end 4 and the discharge end 6 alsocauses the molds 20 to move along the second curved path.

The frames 16 each include a network of bars 22 connected together todefine the openings 18. Two lateral bars 22A of each frame 16 extend ina lateral direction L_(A) (see FIG. 2 ) of the conveyor system 2 acrossa width of the conveyor system 2, and spaced-apart longitudinal bars 22Bextend in a longitudinal direction L_(O) (see FIG. 2 ) of the conveyorsystem 2 along a length of the conveyor system 2. The two lateral bars22A of each frame 16 are spaced apart and may be parallel to each other,and are connected by a series of the longitudinal bars 22B, which arespaced apart and may be parallel to each other, to thereby form theopenings 18. The lateral bars 22A are longer than the longitudinal bars22B, and both the lateral bars 22A and longitudinal bars 22B can befabricated from round stock or stock having another cross-section shape.

The openings 18 are shown to each have a square or rectangular shape,however this is not required and the openings 18 can have other shapes.The length of the lateral bars 22A, the length and number oflongitudinal bars 22B, and the number and size of the openings 18 oneach frame 16 are not critical and can be varied for a particularapplication as desired. The frames 16 may form a regular grid pattern ofopenings 18.

The frames 16 each include four pins 24, two of which extend from eachlateral end 26 of the frame 16 (one lateral end 26 shown in FIGS. 3 and4 ). The two pins 24 on each lateral end 26 extend from a terminallateral longitudinal bar 22B. The four pins 24 on each frame 16 act tooperatively connect each frame 16 to two endless/continuous drive chains28, one of the chains 28 arranged on each lateral end 26 of the frames16. The drive chains 28 are parallel to each other and are driven aroundthe second curved path between the feed end 4 and the discharge end 6,which causes the frames 16 and molds 20 to also move around the secondcurved path. The drive chains 28 may be roller chains and can beguided/deflected along the second curved path by rollers 30 and guides32, and driven by a discharge end drive roller 30B, which is turned by asecond drive chain 34 that is driven by a drive motor 36. The two pins24 on each lateral end 26 of the frame 16 may act as link pins of a link38 of the drive chains 28. The frames 16 may also include a plate 40,which similar to the pins 24, acts a plate of a link 38 of the drivechains 28. The conveyor system 2 may use a band or belt, instead of thedrive chains 28, to drive the frames 16 around the second curved path.

The molds 20 each include an endless round vertical side wall 42defining an open top 44 and an open bottom 46. The molds 20 each includea top flange 48 and a bottom flange 50 that extend horizontally out fromthe side wall 42 to thereby define an annular groove 52 between them andat the outside 54 of the side wall 42. The top flange 48 may extend outat the top edge 56 of the side wall 42, and the bottom flange 50 mayextend out at a bottom edge 58 of the side wall 42.

Each of the openings 18 between the two lateral bars 22A and twoadjacent longitudinal bars 22B movably hold one of the molds 20, whichconfiguration is accomplished by some of the bars 22 being arranged atleast partially within the groove 52 of the mold 20. In particular, asshown in FIG. 5 , a width W₁ of the opening 18 (i.e. a distance betweenthe lateral bars 22A) is larger than a diameter D₁ of the groove 52 butsmaller than a diameter D₂ of the flanges 48, 50 so as to provide a gap60 between the mold 20 and the lateral bars 22A. The gap 60 may be ¼″ to1/16″, or ⅛″, i.e. the width W1 may be ¼″ to 1/16″, or ⅛″ larger thanthe diameter D1. The diameter D2 may be 1/16″ larger than the width W1.As such, the molds 20 are prevented from escaping from the openings 18in the frame 16 because the two lateral bars 22A are arranged at leastpartially within the groove 52 of the mold 20 and are prevented fromescaping the groove 52 due to the flanges 48, 50. In a similar manner,the longitudinal bars 22B may also be arranged at least partially withinthe groove 52 of the mold 20 in the same manner as the lateral bars 22Ashown in FIG. 5 , such that four of the bars 22 (two lateral bars 22Aand two of the longitudinal bars 22B) are arranged at least partiallywithin the groove 52.

The molds 20 and the frame 16 may be made from stainless steel, and oneor both can be coated with silicone or PTFE (e.g. Teflon®) to improvefood product release characteristics. The molds 20 may be made or coatedwith other material, including for example, silicone, which may bemolded to form the molds 20. The molds 20 may be machined, molded, orotherwise formed into a ring shape, having a smooth inner surface 68,e.g. that can be polished (e.g. electro-polished), in order to inhibitfood product 70 from sticking thereto.

The molds 20 being loosely (i.e. movably) held by the frame 16 withinthe openings 18 allows for a certain amount of “play” between the molds20 and the frame 16, i.e. a certain amount or degree of movement isprovided between the molds 20 relative to the frame 16 and openings 18.More specifically, the molds 20 may move vertically and horizontallywith respect to the frame 16 and openings 18 to an extent allowed by thegap 60 between the molds 20 and the bars 22, yet at the same time beoperatively connected to the frame 16 because the molds 20 cannot escapefrom the openings 18 because such escape is prevented by the flanges 48,50 being larger than the openings 18.

The conveyor system 2 is configured such that the lower conveyor 8 andthe upper conveyor 10 are brought together at the feed end 4 (FIG. 7 )such that the molds 20 of the upper conveyor 10 contact the belt 12 ofthe lower conveyor 8 so as to define a receptacle 64 between each of themolds 20 and the belt 12. The receptacles 64 are moved in a feed path inthe first direction F by the lower conveyor 8 and the upper conveyor 10being moved together along a first direction F toward the discharge end6 and through a heating system of the conveyor system 2. The movement ofthe lower conveyor 8 and the upper conveyor 10 may be synchronized sothat the belt 12 and the molds 20 move at the same speed in the firstdirection F. When the lower conveyor 8 and the upper conveyor 10 arebrought together, the play between the molds 20 and the frame 16 allowthe molds 20 to lay flat on the upper surface 66 of the belt 12, even ifthe upper surface 66 is not completely parallel with the frame 16 oreven if the frame 16 is suspended above the belt 12 by a certaindistance. This amount of play between the molds 20 and the frames 16thus allows the molds 20 to lay firmly against the upper surface 66 ofthe belt 12 and ensures a seal is formed between the bottom surface ofthe molds 20 and the upper surface 66 of the belt 12. This seals off theinterior of the receptacles 64 to prevent escape of the food product 70therefrom.

The receptacles 64 are defined by the upper surface 66 of the belt 12and the inner surface 68 of the molds 20, and are configured to containa food product 70 (e.g. a raw egg) while the food product 70 is moved inthe first direction F and heated (e.g. cooked) by the heating system.The belt 12 may be tracked when moved in the first direction F to bewithin ⅙″ of center to prevent liquid food product 70 from leaking underthe molds 20 prior to solidification during heating (cooking). Trackingof the belt 12 is controlled by a three-roller system that steers thebelt 12 by increasing or decreasing tension mid-width of the beltmaterial as it is conveyed through the first curved path. The belt 12 isflat and straight to maintain control of the shape of the cooking foodproduct 70 held in the molds 20.

The open bottoms 46 of the molds 20 allow the food product 70 to contactthe upper surface 66 of the belt 12. The food product 70, e.g. a rawegg, may also spread out in the receptacles 64 and contact the innersurface 68 of the molds 20, which may provide a shape to the foodproduct 70 as it is cooked. The shape of the cooked food product 70 maytherefore be based on the internal shape of the receptacles 64. In otherwords, the molds 20 and the corresponding receptacles 64 defined by themolds 20, form the food product 70 to have a particular shape when it iscooked. Sunny side up eggs require a structure during cooking in ordercreate a round finished (cooked and ready to eat) product. In the caseof the molds 20 being in the shape of a ring, the cooked eggs may have around outer horizontal edge. The molds 20 may have a different internalshape to provide other formed shapes for the cooked eggs as desired.

3. Heating System.

The heating system is configured to heat the food product 70 from aboveand/or from below the food product 70 as the food product 70 in thereceptacles 64 through the feed path in the first direction F. The molds20 may also be heated by the heating system. The heating system may heatthe food product 70 by any one or more of radiation, conduction,convection.

The heating system may include a thermal radiation unit 72 arrangedabove the food product 70, and a thermal conduction unit 74 arrangedbelow the food product 70. The thermal radiation unit 72 may bestainless steel and include a first radiant heater 76 and a secondradiant heater 78. The first and second radiant heaters 76, 78 may beassembled in a manner that creates a gap between two parallel stainlesssteel plates with a flow path between the two plates. The flow pathbegins at one corner of the heaters 76, 78, follows along one side ofthe heaters 76, 78, then turns 180° to flow in the opposite direction,but parallel to the first path. This is continued until the fluidreaches the corner diagonally opposite to the corner of entry. The flowpath is sized to produce the required radiant energy (heat) to cook theproduct traveling below the heaters 76, 78. The thermal radiation unit72 may be mounted on mechanical screw jacks to adjust a distance betweenthe thermal radiation unit 72 and the food product 70. This adjustmentallows more or less intense heating of the top of the food product 70and may also allow for cleaning of the conveyor system 2 after aproduction run.

The thermal conduction unit 74 may be stainless steel and include afirst conduction heater 80 and a second conduction heater 82. The firstand second conduction heaters 80, 82 may be remote-heated by food-gradefluid that passes through pathways formed by welding gates and patternsinside the heaters 80, 82.

The temperature of the thermal radiation unit 72 and the thermalconduction unit 74 may be independently controlled to produce desiredcharacteristics in the cooked food product 70, which in the case ofeggs, may solidify during heating.

The belt 12 is passed across, and rides on top of, the first and secondconduction heaters 80, 82. Heat is transferred to the belt 12 throughconduction and, consequently, to the food product 70 resting on the topsurface 66 of the belt 12 in the receptacles 64.

The food product 70, while being in the receptacles 64 and moved alongthe feed path, may first move through a first heating zone 84 and thensubsequently through a second heating zone 86. In other words, withrespect to the first direction F, the first heating zone 84 is beforethe second heating zone 86. The first heating zone 84 may be hotter(i.e. produce more heat and be at a higher temperature) than the secondheating zone 86. The first heating zone 84 may be defined by the firstradiation heater 76 and the first conduction heater 80. The secondheating zone 86 may be defined by the second radiation heater 78 and thesecond conduction heater 82. More or less heating zones, units, andheaters may be utilized. The thermal radiation unit 72 heats the foodproduct 70 in the receptacles 64 from above by thermal radiation, whereradiant heat is directed from the thermal radiation unit, radiatedthrough air, and downward onto the top of the food product 70. Thethermal conduction unit 74 heats the food product 70 in the receptacles64 from below by thermal conduction, where heat is transmitted from thethermal conduction unit 74, conducted through the belt 12, and into thebottom of the food product 70 on the upper surface 66 of the belt 12.

In the case of a cooked egg, this should rest (e.g., for approximately45-60 seconds) after reaching the needed core temperature in order tocreate a homogeneous runny yolk. The heating system may thereforeinclude an insulated hood to retain heat and to allow equilibration oftemperature throughout the food product 70. This hood, or temperingchamber, may produce the needed internal temperature to satisfactorilycook the food product 70, for example to reach a critical temperatureneeded to produce a desired yolk consistency for a sunny side up egg.

After cooking, the conveyor system 2 is configured such that the lowerconveyor 8 and the upper conveyor 10 are moved apart at the dischargeend 6 so that the molds 20 no longer contact the belt 12 (FIG. 8 ). Thisseparation of the lower and upper conveyors 8, 10 occurs after the foodproduct 70 in the receptacles 64 is moved through the heating system,and in the case of an egg, after the egg is cooked enough to be stable.Removal of the molds 20 leave the eggs in a semi-gelatinous stateresting on the PTFE conveyor belt 12, where the residual heat finishesthe cooking process. Although the egg is fully cooked by temperature,the yolk is still liquid and the egg white is flexible.

More particularly, the drive chains 28 are deflected up away from thebelt 12 by being guided around the discharge end drive roller 30B at thedischarge end 6, which pulls the frames 16 and molds 20 away from thebelt 12 such that the molds 20 no longer contact the belt 12, and thusleave the heated food product 70 (also referred to herein as “formedproduct” or “cooked food product”) on the belt 12 (FIG. 8 ). The cookedfood product 70 is then further transferred on the surface 66 of thebelt 12 in the first direction F.

4. Transfer Roller.

The conveyor system 2 may further include a transfer roller 88. In thecase of eggs as the food product 70, removing these from the belt 12after cooking is problematic and conventional transfer methods do notprovide satisfactory results. This is because surface tension created bythe moisture in the egg, as well as the texture and flexibility of theegg, causes the egg to adhere to the surface 66 of the belt 12. Becauseof this problem, the transfer roller 88 has been configured to easilyremove the heated food product 70 from the discharge end 6 of the belt12. The transfer roller 88 includes an outer surface with a series ofalternating ridges 90 and grooves 92 that extend along a length L of thetransfer roller 88. The transfer roller 88 may include a central rod orroller 94, e.g. a round metal rod or bar (e.g. stainless steel) having adiameter of ½″ to 1″, or ⅝″, with an outer sleeve or sheath 96surrounding the central roller 94. The outer sleeve 96 may comprise apliable yet resilient polymer, e.g. molded silicone rubber, and theridges 90 may extend up from the grooves 92 by 1/16″ to ¼″, or ⅛″. Thetransfer roller may rotate at a speed as selected by a user, and in adirection as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9 . The transfer roller 88is arranged at a discharge end 6 of the belt 12, and is configured toremove and transfer the heated food product 70 off of the belt 12. Thetransfer roller 88 may be arranged at a downward sloped portion 108 ofthe belt 12 as shown in FIGS. 8-11 and which is created as the belt 12deflects around the discharge end roller 14B. The rotational axis of thetransfer roller 88 may be located below (e.g. 2″ below) a horizontalplane defined by the top surface 66 of the belt 12 when in the feedpath. This arrangement allows the cooked food product 70 to “drop” or beangled with respect to the direction of gravity and to the transferroller 88, and thus enables the cooked food product 70 to be lifted andconveyed across the top of the transfer roller 88 to the next conveyor.

The ridges 90 on the transfer roller 88 function to lift the cooked foodproduct 70 from the belt 12 surface 66 while maintaining minimal contactwith the food product 70. The rotational speed of the transfer roller 88is adjustable according to the rotational speed to the belt 12. Therotational speed of the transfer roller 88 may be controlledindependently from that of the belt 12 so as to allow fine adjustment ofthe transfer of the food product 70 and inhibit damage to the cookedfood product 70. The silicone rubber of the outer sleeve 96 may meetfood contact requirements and may be formulated to minimize damage tothe cooked food product 70.

5. Discharge Conveyor.

The conveyor system 2 may further include a discharge conveyor 110,which is configured to accept the heated food product 70 from thetransfer roller 88 and to move the heated food product 70 along adistance, e.g. away from the belt 12 and transfer roller 88. During thismovement, the heated food product 70 may be cooled, either actively orpassively. The discharge conveyor 110 is arranged on a side of thetransfer roller 88 opposite from the belt 12, and may comprise an openwire mesh conveyor belt that allows air flow through it for cooling theheated food product 70.

6. Active Cooling Mechanism.

The conveyor system 2 may further include an active cooling mechanism 98through which the heated food product 70 is transferred by the dischargeconveyor 110. The active cooling mechanism 98 may cool the food product70 down to a temperature where it is easily handled by hand and/or isfrozen. This cooling may facilitate packaging of the frozen food product70 for storage or shipment.

7. Washing System.

The conveyor system 2 may further include a washing system for washingthe lower conveyor 8 and/or the upper conveyor 10 before they are movedin return paths of the first and second curved paths, along a seconddirection S to the feed end 4 of the conveyor system 2. The washingsystem may include a lower washer 100 configured to wash the belt 12 byremoving food product pieces, oils, or other deposits that may have beenleft on the surface 66 of the belt 12 after the food product 70 has beenremoved from the belt 12 by the transfer roller 88. The lower washer mayutilize air, water (e.g. high pressure water nozzles), detergent, heat,light or other cleaning methods to clean the belt 12 of these deposits.The lower washer 100 may be arranged along a lower return path of thefirst curved path, and below the feed path.

The washing system may also or alternatively include an upper washer 102configured to wash the frames 16 and molds 20 by removing food productpieces, oils, or other deposits that may have been left on the frames 16and molds 20 after the frames 16 and molds 20 have been moved away fromthe belt 12 and the cooked food product 70 thereon. The upper washer 102may utilize air, water (e.g. high pressure water nozzles), detergent,heat, light or other cleaning methods to clean the frames 16 and molds20 of these deposits. The upper washer 102 may be arranged along anupper return path of the second curved path, and above the feed path.

The washing system may include, for example, high-pressure nozzlesinstalled in an enclosed space. This enclosed space (box) has slottedopenings large enough for the molds 20 to pass into and out of the box.After the molds 20 enter the box, high pressure nozzles shoot water at ahigh velocity at the molds 20 to remove residue and oil present on themolds 20. The residue is then discharged through a pipe to plantwaste-water systems. Following the wash step, the molds 20 may be driedby low-pressure, high-volume air knives positioned to remove residualmoisture attached to the molds 20. The molds 20 are then returned to thefeed end 4 where a series of parallel, speed-matched sprockets 30Areturn the molds 20 (by way of the frames 16) to a position to be placedon top of the belt 12 and loaded again with food product 70.

8. Loading Area.

The conveyor system 2 may further include a loading area 104 in whichthe food product 70 can be loaded into the receptacles 64. With respectto the first direction F, the loading area 104 may be arranged after ofthe rollers 14A, 30A at the feed end 4 and before the first heating zone84. Loading of the food product 70 into the receptacles 64 may beautomated, or performed manually.

9. Preheating Zone.

The conveyor system 2 may be configured to preheat the molds 20 beforethe food product 70 is loaded into the receptacles 64. For this purpose,the conveyor system 2 may further include a preheating zone arrangednear the feed end 4 of the conveyor system 2. The preheating zone may bearranged, with respect to the second direction S, before the feed endroller 30A at the feed end 4. The preheating zone may be defined by apreheating unit(s) 106, which may include one or more radiant heaters orconvection heaters arranged on opposite sides of the frames 16 and molds20 and heated by a thermal fluid. The preheating unit(s) 106 may beoperated at the same temperature as the heating system and may besupplied with the same thermal fluid flow.

Preheating the molds 20 causes the molds 20 to have a higher temperaturewhen they form the receptacles 64 with the belt 12 and when the foodproduct 70 is arranged therein. When the food product 70, e.g. a liquidor semi-liquid food product such as raw eggs, is arranged in thereceptacles, the preheated molds 20 sear edges of the food product 70that is in contact with the molds to cook and solidify almostimmediately, and even before the food product 70 is transported throughthe heating system. This process of heating the contacting portion ofthe food product creates an initially cooked portion near the contactbetween the molds 20 and the belt 12, and this cooked portion is solidand forms a dam that inhibits the remainder of the liquid food productfrom escaping out of the receptacles 64 between the molds 20 and theupper surface 66 of the belt 12.

10. System Operation.

The heating system may produce an even and slow heating of the foodproduct 70, e.g. an egg, which causes a chemical reaction in the eggwhite and yolk and produces a rubbery egg white and a contained, liquidyolk. A higher temperature in the first heating zone 84 and a lowertemperature in the second heating zone 86 allows equilibration of thetemperature of the eggs and results in a cooked sunny side up egg.

The conveyor system 2 may be run in a continuous operation in anindustrial production setting to heat/cook the food product 70. Theconveyor system 2 utilizes molds 20 in the upper conveyor 10 andreplaces traditional belting used in prior industrial grill devices.These molds 20 can be fabricated to create the desired shape and size ofthe cooked food product 70, where the molds 20 define final outer shapeof cooked food product 70. The conveyor system 2 according to theinvention can be used to manufacture sunny side up eggs, quiche, andomelet products, and other egg-based or non-egg-based food products.

With reference to FIGS. 9-11 showing a transfer operation of theconveyor system 2, and with respect to sunny side up eggs being thecooked food product 70, depicted are cooked eggs 70 descending thedownward sloped portion 108 of the belt 12 around the large diameterdischarge end roller 14B. As such, the cooked eggs 70 are sloped at adownward angle rather than being horizontal. The eggs 70 being in thisdownward sloped orientation allows a leading edge 112 of the eggs 70 tobe exposed and facing the transfer roller 88 (FIG. 9 ). As the eggs 70are moved further down the downward sloped portion 108, the leading edge112 of the eggs 70 engage the ridges 90 on the transfer roller 88. Therotating ridges 90 gently engage and lift the front edge 112 of the eggs70 off of the surface 66 of the belt 12 (FIG. 10 ). Continued movementof the eggs 70 further down the downward sloped portion 108 and liftingof the eggs 70 by the transfer roller 88 result in guiding of the eggs70 off the belt 12, up and over the transfer roller 88, on onto thedischarge conveyor 110 (FIG. 11 ) to be conveyed further by thedischarge conveyor 110, e.g. to the active cooling mechanism 98.

The system is modifiable in a number of ways to adapt to other products.For example the shape and size of the molds 20 can be changed, the styleand material of the belt 12 can be changed, the process of heating thefood product 70 can be changed, and the drive of the lower and/or upperconveyors 8, 10 can be modified to fit other requirements.

11. Methods.

The conveyor system 2 may be used in a method of preparing a cooked foodproduct 70. The method may include providing the conveyor system 2, andmoving the frames 16 such that the open bottom 46 of each of the molds20 contacts the belt 12 to thereby form a plurality of receptacles 64.

The food product 70, e.g. raw eggs, is then arranged in the receptacles64. This may be accomplished by hand, or via an automated method. Thefood product 70 may fill the receptacles 64 so as to contact the innersurface 68 of the molds 20. The molds 20 may be preheated before thefood product 70 is arranged in the receptacles 64, and thus a portion ofthe food product 70 in contact with the molds 20 may be seared.

The receptacles 64 and food product 70 are then moved in the feed pathto the heating system. The heating system heats (i.e. cooks) the foodproduct 70 while in the receptacles 64, which receptacles provide ashape to the food product 70 during cooking. The food product 70 mayinclude a plurality of raw eggs, the cooked food product 70 may includea plurality of cooked eggs, one of the plurality of raw eggs may bearranged in each of the receptacles 64, and each of the molds 20 mayprovide a shape to one of the cooked eggs.

Cooking may include heating the food product 70 from above with thermalradiation, and heating the food product 70 from below using thermalconduction. Cooking may include moving the food product 70 in thereceptacles 64 through the first heating zone 84 and then through thesecond heating zone 86 of the heating system, where the first heatingzone 84 has a higher temperature than the second heating zone 86.

After cooking, the frames 16 are moved such that the molds 20 no longercontact the belt 12. The frames 16 may be lifted up away from the belt12, which continues to move in a horizontal direction, thereby leavingthe cooked food product 70 on the belt 12. The cooked food product 70 isthem transferred off of the belt 12 using the transfer roller 88.

The cooked food product 70 may be transferred onto the dischargeconveyor 110 using the transfer roller 88, and actively or passivelycooled on the discharge conveyor 110, e.g. by using the active coolingmechanism 98. The cooked food product 70 may be subject to otherprocesses, before or after cooling, in order to further modify the foodproduct 70, and these may include for example, further heating (e.g. byradiation or heated air), addition of coloring, drying, etc. A furtherheating step may include using radiant heaters arranged above thedischarge conveyor to fully cook the food product, such as having acompletely cooked food product that is entirely solid as opposed tohaving a sunny side up egg with a liquid yolk.

The belt 12 and/or the molds 20 may be washed after the cooked foodproduct 70 is transferred off of the belt 12.

The foregoing and other features of the invention set forth in detailcertain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these beingindicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciples of the present invention may be employed.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects isnot limited to the specific details and illustrative examples shown anddescribed herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of cooking a food product using aconveyor system that includes a (1) a feed end, (2) a discharge end, (3)a lower conveyor including an endless belt having an upper surface, (4)an upper conveyor including a rotatable ring assembly including (a) atleast one frame including a plurality of openings, and (b) a pluralityof molds, each of the plurality of molds being moveably held within oneof the plurality of openings in the at least one frame and including anopen bottom, and (5) a heating system, the method comprising steps of:rotating the endless belt such that the upper surface thereof moves fromthe feed end toward the discharge end of the conveyor system; rotatingthe ring assembly such that the open bottom of each of the plurality ofmolds movably held within the at least one frame contacts the uppersurface of the endless belt at the feed end of the conveyor system tothereby form a plurality of receptacles, the endless belt and theplurality of molds in contact with the upper surface of the endless beltmoving at the same speed; arranging the food product on the uppersurface of the belt in the plurality of receptacles at the feed end ofthe conveyor system while the endless belt is rotating; cooking the foodproduct in the plurality of receptacles on the upper surface of theendless belt as the upper surface of the endless belt is moving towardthe discharge end using heat from the heating system to form a cookedfood product; and moving the frame away from the endless belt after thecooking step such that the plurality of molds no longer contact theupper surface of the endless belt, thereby leaving the cooked foodproduct on the upper surface of the rotating endless belt.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein: the food product includes a plurality ofraw eggs; the cooked food product includes a plurality of cooked eggs;the arranging step comprises arranging one of the plurality of raw eggsin each of the receptacles; and each of the molds provide a shape to oneof the plurality of cooked eggs.
 3. The method according to claim 1,wherein: the cooking step includes heating the food product from abovewith thermal radiation, and heating the food product from below usingthermal conduction; and the cooking step includes moving the foodproduct in the receptacles through a first heating zone and then througha second heating zone of the heating system, the first heating zonehaving a higher heating temperature than the second heating zone.
 4. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein: the conveyor system furtherincludes a transfer roller arranged on a downward sloped portion of theendless belt, the transfer roller including a series of alternatingridges and grooves extending along a length of the transfer roller; andthe method further includes transferring the cooked food product off ofthe endless belt using the transfer roller.
 5. The method according toclaim 4, wherein: the conveyor system further includes a dischargeconveyor and an active cooling mechanism; and the method furtherincludes transferring the cooked food product onto the dischargeconveyor using the transfer roller, and actively cooling the cooked foodproduct on the discharge conveyor using the active cooling mechanism. 6.The method according to claim 1, wherein: the conveyor system furtherincludes a washing system; and the method further includes washing theendless belt and the plurality of molds.
 7. The method according toclaim 2, wherein: the frame includes a network of bars defining theopenings; the network of bars defining the openings comprises lateralbars and longitudinal bars; each of the openings is defined by two ofthe lateral bars and two of the longitudinal bars; each of the moldscomprises a ring including the open bottom, an endless round verticalside wall, an open top, a top flange, and a bottom flange, the topflange and the bottom flange extending radially out from the side wallto thereby define an annular groove around an outside of the ring; someof the bars of the network of bars are arranged at least partiallywithin the annular groove to thereby moveably hold the molds within theopenings; the molds cannot escape from the openings because such escapeis prevented by the flanges being larger than the openings; the cookingstep includes heating the food product from above with thermalradiation, and heating the food product from below using thermalconduction; and the cooking step includes moving the food product in thereceptacles through a first heating zone and then through a secondheating zone of the heating system, the first heating zone having ahigher heating temperature than the second heating zone.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the frame is mounted on a continuous drivechain including link pins and link plates, and during the rotating thering assembly step the continuous drive train moves the frame along acurved path.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: the frameincludes a plate and two pins; the plate is incorporated as one of thelink plates in the drive chain; and the two pins are incorporated as twoof the link pins in the drive chains.
 10. The method according to claim1, further comprising removing the cooked food product from a downwardsloped portion of the endless belt using a transfer roller.
 11. Themethod according to claim 10, wherein the transfer roller includes aseries of alternating silicone ridges and silicone grooves extendingalong a length of the transfer roller.
 12. The method according to claim11, wherein the transfer roller includes a central rod surrounded by asilicone outer sleeve including the silicone ridges and siliconegrooves.
 13. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingpreheating the molds before the food product is arranged in thereceptacles.
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein thepreheating is accomplished by heaters arranged on opposite sides of theframe.